With an Opening Day payroll of just $45 million the Padres rank 27th in player spending, but chief executive officer Jeff Moorad said yesterday that the team is negotiating a new local television contract that could increase the payroll by 10-20 percent as soon as 2012.

Cox Communications’ current 10-year deal to broadcast Padres games expires after this season and Moorad told Bill Center of the San Diego Union Tribune that “there are several active discussions going on at the moment.”

The Padres have a new worry… the Dodgers are said to be close to signing Sum Too Fat to go along with Sum Hung Lo about to come back from his injury. The Dodgers of course are just trying to keep up with the LOS ANGELES Angels, who this offseason signed Hisanori Wishywashi!!!!

Increased payroll does not neccessarily translate to increased wins, that’s been proven. Padres themselves are an example since last year Opening day payroll was less than $40 Million so even the bump some $5 Mill this year, they’re much worse. Still a small market payroll and will have to watch how they invest every nickel.

I think the main purpose the increased payroll will accomplish is being able to keep key players longer instead of having to trade them sooner then preferred. It also will help them with the ability to get more depth then signing a big star in free agency.

ican… EXCELLENT point! Now that we seem to be largely past the roids era, guys who are now on the wrong side of 35 are getting fewer and fewer big contracts and their has been a dramatic (and welcome IMO), shift towards buying out arbitration and free agent years of home grown talent.

In the case of the Padres, even though this season is going to be a lot like watching paint dry, the Padres new owner (Moorad), has a great blueprint for the future. He got a bonanza of young talent back from Boston in the Gonzales trade, and now needs to do the same thing by trading Heath Bell before the trading deadline. This team has a lot of needs, but a closer right now isn’t one of them!

Moorad has also dramatically shifted the emphasis on talent development and acquisition to players who fit cavernous Petco Park. Speed, defense and line drive gap hitters are now where the Padres are widely focused.

I love the blueprint, but frankly don’t like Petco Park much. It’s a beauty from the outside, but on the inside? Too much ugly unpainted concrete (namely the two huge elevator shafts leading to the press box level), inexplicably no view of San Diego Bay (which is sad), and a “dead air” park at night (which leads to a lot of boring low scoring punch and judy games).

Here’s a stat for you too that says it all… Adrian Gonzales last season had NO home runs in night games at Petco Park after the second inning. Padres go down by even 2-3 runs? Might as well head for one of the nearby bars in the great adjoining gaslight district. Zzzzz-zzzzz!